Laptop Problem: Laptop suddenly shuts down without warning

I read somewhere that someone was having problem with her laptop computer. Her laptop suddenly shuts down after using it for 10 to 20 minutes without warning. This kind of problem is usually caused by overheating problem. Like what we said on our previous post “Computer Problem: Computer Overheating”, laptops are more susceptible to this kind of problem than desktop computers.

For laptop owners out there here are some signs that your laptop might have overheating problem:

1.    Laptop keyboard and the laptop bottom feel very hot when you use your laptop.
2.    Loud noise coming from the CPU fans and working all the time at maximum rotation speed.
3.    All of the sudden your laptop shuts down without any warning. When this kind of problem is just starting, your laptop shuts down after 1-2 hours and for serious cases it shuts down after 5-10 minutes of operation.
4.    Even if the laptop works perfectly when you are not using it or in idle mode it shuts down as soon as you use any hard application that requires a lot of memory such as playing DVD player, image and video editing software and the like.

Solution:

1.    For mild problem you can use any shop vacuum to suck the dust out from your laptop. You don’t need to take your laptop apart immediately.
2.    Check if the CPU and heat sink of your laptop if clogged with dust and lint. If it is mildly clogged with dust you can try to use canned air to blow the dust away from the CPU and heat sink. This is a nice precaution measure when your CPU and heat sink are starting to get clogged by dust and lint but might not work for serious cases. When your laptop is already completely clogged with dust you can use a heavy duty shop vacuum to clean out the fan and heat sinks. Instead of a vacuum cleaner you can also try powerful air compressor instead.
3.    You can clean the CPU fan and heat sink when you open your laptop case. Pls. check your manual how to open your laptop case because different manufacturer varies how to do this task. Remember that there are companies that will void your warranty if you open your laptop.
4.    Carefully clean the heat sink and the fan. After cleaning it test the fan if it will make any grinding sound when you use it. If it does then maybe its time to have it changed.
5.    If your laptop is still under warranty, you can take it to service provider and let them fix the problem at no charge to you.